jan 1, 1471 - boardcleaver

Description:

Occupational for a woodman or carpenter, the specialist who split timber trees into the pieces used for boards, that is thin planks. The by-name and occupational term occur together in the West Riding poll tax: 1379 <i>Henricus de Werldlay, bordclever</i>, Follifoot; 1379 <i>Robertus Burdeclener</i> [sic], Wistow (PTWR). As a by-name or surname it survived into the sixteenth century at least: 1438 <i>Robert Burdeclener</i> [sic], Snaith (YRS120/155); 1471-1521 <i>William Burdclever, William Bordclever</i>, York (SS35;SS96). Reaney interpreted this as ‘bird-catcher’, quoting the following Yorkshire example: 1427 <i>Robert Birdclever</i>, East Keswick (Th6/242) but the name often occurs in contexts where the reference is likely to have been to a carpenter: 1442 ‘And for the service of<i> … Richard Bordclever … </i>one day and a half repairing faults in the building’, Selby (SAR105).

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